Spelling Rules F-2 2e Teacher Resource Book sample/look inside

BESTSELLI LING SERIES
TEACHER
RESOURCE BOOK
F–2
Foundation
Second edition
Tanya Gibb
Dog
Ant
Monkey
Makes
spelling
stick!

TEACHER
RESOURCE BOOK
Foundation–2
Second edition
Tanya Gibb

Dictionaries to support the
Spelling Rules! program
Ages 6–10
Ages 10–15
This edition published in 2021 by
Matilda Education Australia, an imprint
of Meanwhile Education Pty Ltd
Level 1/274 Brunswick St
Fitzroy, Victoria Australia 3065
T: 1300 277 235
E: customersupport@matildaed.com.au
www.matildaeducation.com.au
Copyright © Tanya Gibb/Macmillan Education Australia 2016
All rights reserved.
First edition published in 2016.
Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of
Australia and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by
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without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
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Any copies must be photocopies only, and they must not be hired out or
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Email: info@copyright.com.au
Publisher: First edition Sharon Dalgleish
Designers: Trish Hayes and Stephen Michael King
Illustrator: Stephen Michael King
Printed in by
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 25 24 23 22 21 20
2

Contents
Introduction.......................................... 4
Learning to Spell...................................... 5
Why Do We Need to Learn to Spell? ............................. 5
Why Is It Hard to Learn How to Spell?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
How Do Students Learn to Spell? ................................ 5
Types of Spelling Knowledge ................................... 6
Making Spelling Stick .......................................... 6
Spelling Stages........................................ 7
Pre-phonetic, early phonetic, phonetic,
transitional and conventional stages
Glossary of Spelling Terms............................. 14
Developing a Whole-School Spelling Policy ............... 16
How to Develop a Whole-School Spelling Policy ................... 16
A Sample Whole-School Spelling Policy .......................... 17
The Spelling Classroom for Foundation to Year 2 .......... 20
How to Set Up the Classroom for Spelling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Developing Auditory, Visual and Kinaesthetic Perception ............. 21
Integrating Spelling into the Reading and Writing Program ........... 22
Games to Develop Spelling .................................... 25
Assessing Spelling.................................... 28
Why and How Do We Assess Spelling? ........................... 28
Diagnosing Spelling Errors ..................................... 30
Catering for the Struggling Speller . .................... 34
Catering for the More Able Speller...................... 36
A Sequential Spelling Program ......................... 38
Student Book Foundation. ..............................39
Skills Taught ................................................ 40
Scope and Sequence ......................................... 41
Word Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Useful Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Unit-by-Unit Activities to Enhance Learning ....................... 44
Student Book 1 ........................................60
Skills Taught ................................................ 61
Scope and Sequence ......................................... 62
Word Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Useful Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Unit-by-Unit Activities to Enhance Learning ....................... 66
Student Book 2 ........................................84
Skills Taught ................................................ 85
Scope and Sequence ......................................... 86
Word Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Useful Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Unit-by-Unit Activities to Enhance Learning ....................... 90
Reproducibles 1–25.............................. 108–132
Answers for Student Books Foundation, 1 and 2.......... 133

Introduction
Spelling Rules! is a bestselling series of seven student books and two Teacher Resource
Books, which have been reproduced in a second edition. This second edition includes
a disc in the Teacher Resource Books, Scope and Sequence charts updated for the
Australian Curriculum and reflection activities in student books 1–4 to allow students
to assess their own progress.
The Spelling Rules! program is based on sound learning theory and pedagogy, using
strategies that embed spelling in the long-term memory. The program systematically
develops phonological, visual, kinaesthetic, morphemic and etymological spelling
knowledge so that students learn how to spell at the same time as they are learning
the spelling of specific words.
The Spelling Rules! student books and Teacher Resource Books work together as
a complete spelling program. They can also be used independently as stand-alone
resources for student use or teacher reference.
The Spelling Rules! program has been designed to provide spelling instruction that
is systematic, purposeful and sequential. Each student book includes a scope and
sequence chart and units of work for students to complete. Each unit focuses on one
or more English language sounds or letter patterns. These sounds or letter patterns
are featured in the word list for each unit.
High frequency words are also included in the word lists. High frequency words are
words that students are likely to encounter when reading, and that they are likely to
need when expressing their own ideas in writing. It is useful for students to learn the
spelling of high frequency words because automatic spelling recall helps increase their
fluency when writing.
Activities in the student books focus specifically on the words in the word lists
and also on teaching spelling in the context of reading and writing. Many activities
incorporate vocabulary development and understanding of grammatical patterns
to assist students in creating their own effective written texts.
It is recommended that students spend a small amount of time practising their spelling
each day. Focusing on a few words at a time, and reinforcing these, has proven to be
the best way to ensure students retain spelling knowledge. It is anticipated that each
unit in the student books will be completed over the course of a school week, with
the extra activities suggested in the Teacher Resource Book used to supplement and
reinforce all aspects of the student books.
4

Learning to Spell
Why Do We Need to Learn to Spell?
Spelling is a tool for writing, in making meaning, in communicating effectively and to assist in
‘getting the message across’ to the reader. Writers need to spell consistently and according
to the conventions of the language they are writing in so that their writing can be read by
others. It is also useful as a reader to have an understanding of spelling, to help make sense of
a written text, although you do not need to be a good speller to be a good reader.
Why Is It Hard to Learn How to Spell?
Spelling is a highly complex process. It involves selecting the correct pattern of letters to
represent the sounds in speech. In English writing, this means learning 26 letters of the
alphabet and combining them to represent approximately 40 speech sounds or phonemes
– and there are over 600 combinations of letters to use to represent those 40 phonemes.
No wonder spelling can be difficult! And no wonder it is important to explicitly teach
students the system.
Another aspect of English that has rendered its spelling more challenging is the fact that English
has adopted many words from other languages, and the spelling of these adopted words usually
reflects the spelling – but not always the pronunciation – of the original language. Yacht is an
example. Understanding that this word was adopted from the Dutch jacht can help students
understand why the spelling does not reflect the English pronunciation.
Also, pronunciations have changed over time so that the spelling of some words no longer
reflects their pronunciation. Knew and gnaw are examples: originally the k and the g were
pronounced, and the spelling remains the same even though the pronunciation has changed.
Homophones also add to the complexity of spelling in English. Homophones are words that
sound the same but have different spellings and meanings, for example there, their and they’re.
For some learners of English as a second language, there are certain sounds that are
difficult to hear or difficult to pronounce. For example, for speakers of Spanish as a
first language, /th/ in them can easily become /d/; Arabic speakers might have difficulty
distinguishing between /p/ and /b/; and Japanese speakers might have difficulty distinguishing
between /l/ and /r/.
It’s important to stay aware of the special circumstances of all your students and be
prepared to remedy any difficulties.
How Do Students Learn to Spell?
It is likely that you will encounter a minority of students who are natural spellers. These
students will become quite proficient spellers without explicit teaching instruction.
However, even these students will stumble over spelling an unknown word unless they
have been given the knowledge to help them work out how to go about it.
Students need to be taught how to spell. Providing them with books and writing opportunities
is a part of the equation, but these strategies will not, in themselves, teach the majority
of students to spell. The vast majority of students need formal, systematic and sequential
instruction. They need to be taught how spelling works, as well as the strategies and
knowledge they can use to become independent, confident spellers and spelling risk-takers.
To make progress as spellers, students need opportunities to engage in writing every day. The
more time students spend engaged in writing activities, the more opportunities they have to try
out what they are learning.
5

Types of Spelling Knowledge
Learning to spell involves the following types of spelling knowledge:
Phonological knowledge uses memory of how a word sounds, and
of the patterns of sounds in words. It relates to students’ aural skills.
Visual knowledge uses memory of how letters and words look, and
of the visual patterns in words. It relates to students’ visual skills.
Kinaesthetic knowledge uses the physical memory of the feeling when saying different sounds and
words, and when writing the shapes of letters and words. It relates to tactile perceptual awareness.
Morphemic knowledge involves an understanding of the meaning or function of words, or
parts of words, and applying this knowledge to spelling. It involves thinking skills.
Etymological knowledge involves an understanding of the origins and history of words and
the effect these have on spelling patterns. Remembering and making analogies involves thinking skills.
Making Spelling Stick
According to current brain research theory, the brain and its functions can be likened to a computer.
A computer’s hard drive can be compared to our long-term memory. That’s where we store information
that we want to be able to retrieve at any time in the future for re-use. The human brain has a huge
capacity for long-term storage.
The RAM or useful working memory of a computer is finite. If we overload a computer or expect too
much of it at any one time, it will freeze or send the message ‘not enough memory’. The working memory
in a human brain is also finite. Students need opportunities to process new information and then store it
in their long-term memories (internal hard drive) for future use. It helps students to be exposed to small
amounts of new information at a time. To expect them to learn too much at one session is asking for that
‘not enough memory’ message.
Another useful computer analogy is that if we work on a computer but don’t save the files, they disappear.
If new information in the brain’s working memory is not transferred to long-term memory, it will be
lost. If we want student brains to recognise that spelling retention is important, then we need to present
small amounts of spelling to them at any one time, and then give them time to reinforce, practise and
consolidate this information so that it is saved in their long-term memories. Otherwise, their brains
will do the equivalent of sending it all to the trash. Human brains sort out the trash from the useful
knowledge that’s worth storing while we are asleep. This is why, as teachers, we sometimes feel that we
are getting nowhere, having to re-teach the same information for weeks, with none of it seeming to sink
into students’ brains. Repeated exposure to information in small doses and plenty of practice will ensure
that the information (spelling knowledge) gets saved in students’ long-term memories.
Our brains also establish links and pathways between old information and new information. A sequential
spelling program that builds on previous learning makes learning to spell a more manageable task for
students. Presenting information to be learned through auditory, kinaesthetic and visual experiences
supports students’ differing learning styles, and multiple sensory experiences also assist in establishing
these connections and building on knowledge.
6
The Spelling Rules! program is designed to ensure that students commit spelling knowledge to longterm
memory. An acronym that can summarise the strategies that will help spelling move from working
memory to long-term memory is SLLURP.
Say the word carefully and slowly to yourself.
Listen to how each part of the word sounds in sequence.
Look at the patterns of letters in the word and the shape of the word.
Understand rules, word meanings and word origins.
Remember similar words you can already spell and relate this knowledge to any new word.
Practise writing the word until it is firmly fixed in long-term memory. A useful sequence
for students to use is ‘look, say, cover, write, check’.

Spelling Stages
There are five stages of spelling that students progress through, at individual rates, in order
to become successful spellers.
Student Books Foundation, 1 and 2 in this series focus on the first three stages, which are the
pre-phonetic stage, the early phonetic stage and the phonetic stage.
The five spelling stages are linear but at times a student may be operating in two stages at once.
For example, a competent speller who usually operates in the conventional stage might become a
phonetic speller when attempting to spell a word that is totally unfamiliar such as a mathematical
or scientific term.
The Pre-Phonetic Stage
The pre-phonetic stage is when students first become aware of print. They might ask you to
write a shopping list for them, or notice when you skip words in a story that they have heard
before. They understand what print is for, but they do not yet understand how it works.
The student might use invented letters as well as some copied and conventional letters and/or
scribble. They will ‘read’ it aloud to you, because they understand the concept that writing can
be read and that the message remains constant.
Supporting the Learner
• Ensure that students can hear individual words in a stream of speech by speaking
slowly and clearly. When you read big books or class books, point out in the text
where each word ends and the next word begins.
• Explore with students the sounds in words. Show how words can be separated
into individual sounds and how the sounds can then be rejoined.
• Write with students, in front of students and for students as their scribe. Encourage
students to write, scribble and experiment.
• Teach the conventions of English print. Show students how print in English is read
from left to right, a page is read from top to bottom, and a book from front to back.
The child is becoming aware of print
conventions and is drawing scribbles
and pretend letters. This needs to be
interpreted and ‘read’ by the child.
The sample ‘reads’: Dear Aunty Helen.
7

The Early Phonetic Stage
In the early phonetic stage, students are starting to associate sounds with symbols and might
recognise some letters in the environment, for example on shop signs or in their name.
They might use consonants or single letters to represent words or sounds in their writing. They are
developing their knowledge of letters. Students are starting to understand sound–letter relationships and
to spell words with two letters, or words with three letters that follow the pattern consonant–vowel–
consonant (CVC) such as ‘mum’. They might also have started to develop a list of high frequency words
that they recognise from their reading and use in their writing, including their own name or the names
of siblings or friends.
Supporting the Learner
• Reinforce students’ early understanding of sound–letter
relationships, especially through using CVC patterns
(mum, dad).
• Sound out words with students.
• Clap out the syllables in words or make up actions for the
syllables in each child’s name. For example, ‘Waiyin’ could
have two jumps.
• Ask students to listen for initial and final sounds in words.
• Provide lots of opportunities for students to engage in
writing and encourage students to ‘have a go’ at spelling.
The student understands that writing is meant to be read and that the message can be read consistently.
The student is not able to recognise individual words in a stream of speech and therefore omits the gaps
between words when writing. The student writes all the letters known in upper-case except for ‘li’, which
forms part of her own name, ‘Ali’.
The student relies on memory to ‘read’ the text This is Ali’s work.
The student is associating symbols with sounds. The student has started the sentence string using an
upper-case I and completed it with a full stop. The writing still contains a mixture of upper-case and
lower-case letters.
The sentence reads: I did cooking and we ate it.
8

The Phonetic Stage
In the phonetic stage, students represent words in a phonetic way. Their
writing can often be read quite well by adults because it is logical and
students show an understanding that they need to match letters for sounds.
Students are starting to show awareness of spelling rules and some
conventions of written language such as full stops.
A vocabulary of high frequency words is being stored in the long-term
memory and students are able to retrieve these words when required.
Supporting the Learner
• Explicitly teach letter–sound correspondences and provide opportunities
for students to practise their newly acquired knowledge.
• Help students remember spelling patterns by explicitly examining words
that include the patterns and pointing out significant visual features as well
as mnemonic clues.
• Teach students how to examine the visual patterns and shapes of words.
• Point out examples in student writing or class reading where sounds need
combinations of letters to represent them, for example ‘shop’.
• Support students in developing a core vocabulary of high frequency words
and ensure you help them store the words in long-term memory.
• Begin to teach students about prefixes and suffixes as required in
their writing.
• Teach students about word families.
• Teach students about contractions, for example I’m, don’t.
• Explicitly teach students strategies for working out the spelling of unfamiliar words. Articulate
for them the strategies you would use. Say to students, ‘Let’s sound it out . . . Let’s write it and see if
it looks right . . . Let’s think about other words that sound the same – do we know how they are spelt?’
And so on. Thinking out loud like this as a model for students helps to reinforce what they can do
when spelling an unfamiliar word.
• Have students write specific texts such as letters, cards, shopping lists, stories and poems.
• Introduce proofreading strategies.
• Play spelling games or games derived from spelling practice, for example Scrabble ® , bingo, snap.
High frequency words are correct (the and of). It is possible to read the student’s writing and the
student is starting to form words — febywe is a phonetic attempt to spell February. (It is also possible
the student is not pronouncing February in a way that will assist even phonetic spelling attempts.)
The text reads: the 9th of February.
9

The student’s writing is progressing, but is still phonetic. Words are seen as discrete units and are
written separately. High frequency words are usually written correctly (on, I, to, the). There is the
correct use of upper-case I, and the self-corrected use of upper-case to start the sentence. Less common
words are spelt phonetically using some letters to represent many (sceltnetns for skeletons). The student
is prepared to tackle quite complex vocabulary. Correct pronunciation and sounding out the word
might have assisted the student when attempting to spell museum (moozem) and dinosaurs’ (dinsoos).
The sentence reads: On a rainy day I went to the museum and I saw dinosaurs’ skeletons.
The text is relatively easy to
read and all words are written
as discrete units. The student
is spelling some high frequency
words correctly (and, the, they,
you, said), but not others (die for
did, oov for of). The student is still
approaching spelling phonetically,
but the phonetic spelling is not
completely regular. The student
copied Once upon a time from
the board, but did not correctly
copy time. The student is not
pronouncing mother correctly,
and has misspelt it twice using
muvh. The student is adding extra
letters because he or she is
stretching the words to sound
them out, hence uiel for will.
The text reads: Once upon a time
lived eight koalas. The mother said
you will go and get some bread
so they did. The mother was very
proud of them.
10

The student is spelling high frequency words correctly (and, it, had), but is still approaching
spelling phonetically. The text is easy to read: all words are written as discrete units and the
phonetic spelling is fairly regular. The student has correctly copied Bearded Dragon from the
board. The student does not use y for the short y sound at the end of the word prickly (prikule).
The student is not pronouncing prickly correctly, having stretched the word to sound it out, and
has added an extra vowel sound between k and l. The student has not learned the suffix ed for
looked (lookt). The student is not pronouncing felt correctly, and has spelt it filt. The student does
not recognise a sentence.
The text reads: Logan had a bearded dragon. It felt prickly and it looked scary.
11

The Transitional Stage
In the transitional stage, students become aware of factors other than phonics that they can bring to spelling,
for example visual knowledge of the way words look; knowledge of particular spelling patterns, especially
more common ones such as ing, ed, scr, ay; knowledge of spelling rules such as ‘change y to i before adding
-ly’; and understanding of word families. They are able to use syllabification and morphemic knowledge.
They are able to use analogy to work out how to spell words or parts of words. They might know
how to spell day and fry and so spell Friday as Fryday.
Students have developed a substantial core vocabulary of high frequency and subject-specific words.
Supporting the Learner
• Explicitly teach spelling patterns to students.
• Build on student understanding of word families.
• Extend students’ understanding of the use of morphemes and etymology to remember spelling patterns.
• Encourage students to use visual knowledge to check spelling.
• Further develop students’ list of high frequency words.
• Encourage students to write, and ensure they have a variety of purposes for which to write.
• Encourage students to read, and ensure they are exposed to a variety of texts.
• Expect that students will proofread their own work.
The student has committed to
memory some high frequency
words with common letter
patterns: think, because, so, went.
Errors are still made: frends.
Words are spelt in different ways
within the same piece of writing:
shold and shod for should; school
and shcool for school and preckul
for preschool; and were and wear
for wear. The more common
word of a homophone pair has
been used: wood for would and no
for know.
The text is easy to read.
12

The Conventional Stage
In the conventional stage, the speller knows the rules and conventions of English and understands
the complex relationship between sound and letter representation. Students will often know when
they cannot spell a word. Conventional spellers use a variety of strategies to work out how to spell
unfamiliar words and to remember known words, including the use of external references such as
dictionaries. They have a large number of learned words, including subject-specific vocabulary, that
they can retrieve from their long-term memory.
Supporting the Learner
• Support students as they further develop their
use of phonological, visual, kinaesthetic, etymological
and morphemic knowledge to spell. For example,
phonological: revise irregular or uncommon letter
patterns; visual: ensure that students are exposed
to and focus on visual patterns in words; kinaesthetic:
writing and typing words for themselves to support
physical memory of the shapes of letter patterns
and words; etymological and morphemic: thinking
about word origins, word families and connections
between words supports the brain in storing
spelling in long-term memory.
• Expect students to have a comprehensive list of
words that they are able to retrieve from their
long-term memory to use in their writing.
• Ensure that students are given opportunities to
read and write more complex texts for a range
of purposes.
• Expect that students will proofread their written
work with a high degree of accuracy, using
external references when necessary.
High frequency words are correctly spelt. The student is applying rules (for example, doubling the
m in swim when adding -ing). The student has correctly used the upper-case for Thursday and an
apostrophe to indicate an abbreviation in didn’t.
13

Glossary of Spelling Terms
Affix
The general term for a prefix or suffix, i.e. a
morpheme added to either the beginning or
end of a base word.
Analogy
Equivalence or likeness. Recognising how to spell
one word because of its similarity to another,
e.g. sip and pip.
Antonym
A word or word group with a meaning opposite
to that of another word or word group, e.g. full
and empty.
Auditory perception
Ability to distinguish sounds.
Base word
The basic form of a word, e.g. help. Prefixes and
suffixes are added to the base word to change
the meaning, indicate tense, form the plural etc.,
e.g. helped, helping, helpful etc.
Blend
A combination of two consonants in which each
retains its distinctive sound, e.g. /br/ in bread,
/cl/ in clasp.
Compound word
Two or more words joined together to produce
a new word with a different meaning,
e.g. wheel + chair wheelchair.
Consonant
All the letters of the alphabet that aren’t vowels.
Contractions
Formed when two words are combined and then
a letter or letters are omitted, e.g. didn’t for did
not, I’ll for I will. Apostrophes are used in place of
the deleted letter or letters.
Conventional speller
Someone who understands the conventions of
spelling and applies them consistently when spelling.
Digraph
A pair of letters that represent a single speech
sound, e.g. ea in beat, sh in shop, ar in dark.
Early phonetic speller
Someone who is starting to associate sounds with
symbols and might recognise some letters in print.
Etymology
The origin and history of a word. It can often assist
in understanding the reason for a word’s spelling.
Final sound
The last sound heard in a word, e.g. /d/ in bread
Grapheme
The smallest unit of writing to represent a sound,
e.g. t in tip, th in these, mb in thumb.
High frequency words
Words that are commonly used in texts and speech.
Homographs
Words of different origin and meaning that are
spelt the same, e.g. live in I live at home and a live
one; bear in polar bear and to bear a burden.
Homophones
Words that are pronounced the same but have
different spellings and meanings, e.g. deer and dear.
Initial sound
The first sound heard in a word, e.g. /s/ in stop.
Invented spelling
Spelling made up when a child is first learning to
write. Sometimes called temporary spelling.
Letter–sound relationship
The way a sound is represented in writing.
Long-term memory
Where information is stored for later retrieval.
Medial sound
A sound that occurs within a word or syllable
that is neither initial nor final.
Minimal pairs
Two words that differ by only one phoneme,
e.g. hot/hat, get/pet.
Mnemonic
A memory cue, e.g. The principal of a school is my pal.
Morpheme
The smallest grammatical unit of language that has
meaning. It can be a word, e.g. sit or by, or an element
of a word, like mis- in mistake or -ing in singing.
Morphology
The study of word formation in a language by
analysing word parts and word derivation.
Onset and rime
The beginning part or sound of the word is
the onset and the rest of the word is the rime,
e.g. m–atch. The breaking of words into beginnings
and endings.
14

Peer assessment
Assessment undertaken by peers.
Phoneme
The smallest unit of sound in a language.
Phonemic awareness
Ability to recognise that words are made up of
individual sounds (phonemes) and use letter–
sound correspondences to read and spell
words. (Sometimes used interchangeably with
phonological awareness.)
Phonetic speller
A speller who represents words in a phonetic way.
Phonological awareness
Ability to recognise larger units of sound in
addition to phonemes, e.g. syllables, onset and
rime. Enables students to recognise and generate
rhyming words, count syllables, and separate the
beginning and ending of words. (Sometimes used
interchangeably with phonemic awareness.)
Phonology
The sound system of language.
Prefix
An affix attached to the beginning of a base word
to change the meaning, e.g. the prefix un- + base
word like unlike.
Pre-phonetic speller
A speller who is just becoming aware of print.
They might use invented letters as well as some
copied and conventional letters and/or scribble.
Pronunciation
The act of producing speech sounds.
Proofreading
Checking a written text for correct spelling and
other conventions of writing such as punctuation
and grammar.
Root word
See Base word.
Sight word
A common word that often cannot be sounded
out and that needs to be memorised, e.g. the,
said, come.
Silent letter
A letter that does not represent a sound,
e.g. w in wrestle, k in knight, l in folk.
Suffix
An affix attached to the end of a base word to
change the meaning, e.g. the suffix -ly + base word
like likely.
Syllable
A unit of sound within a word, e.g. to-mor-row.
A syllable must contain a vowel or the letter y
when it is acting as a vowel. Syllables usually start
with a consonant: Sa-tur-day. Double consonants
are usually split down the middle: hap-py. A word
consisting of one syllable is monosyllabic. A word
consisting of two or more syllables is multisyllabic
or polysyllabic.
Synonyms
Words that have the same
or similar meaning, e.g. throw and toss.
Tense
The form of the verb that shows time. Auxiliary
verbs and/or suffixes attached to the end of the
base form of the verb are used to show when an
action happens, e.g. She plays. She is playing. (both
are present tense) She played. (past tense) She
will play. (future tense)
Transitional speller
A speller who is starting to use knowledge of
particular spelling patterns, spelling rules, word
families, syllabification and morphemes as well
as phonological knowledge to spell words.
Upper-case and lower-case letters
Two forms of the letters of the alphabet. Uppercase
letters are used to indicate the beginning of
a sentence or the initial letter of a proper noun.
Visual perception
Ability to distinguish between shapes, objects
and patterns by using the sense of sight.
Vowels
The letters a, e, i, o and u. The letter y is a semivowel,
as it is a consonant that sometimes
represents a vowel sound.
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Developing a Whole-School Spelling Policy
A consistent approach to the teaching and learning
of spelling throughout the school will benefit
students, their families and staff. An important first
step in implementing a whole-school approach to
spelling is to develop a spelling policy.
How to Develop
a Whole-School Spelling Policy
To begin with, staff members or a small
subcommittee of staff members can meet to
discuss how spelling is currently taught, what the
school community (including families) expects
regarding the teaching and assessing of spelling, what
expectations there are of student achievement, and
how government testing results and government
benchmarks affect spelling in the school.
A written survey for all staff members or by grades
or year groups will elicit the sort of information
required by the Spelling Committee. Ask questions
such as: How do you currently teach spelling?
Are you confident that the approach you use is
working? For all students? For the majority of
students? Which students are not benefiting from
the school’s current approach to spelling? What
is best about the school’s current approach?
What concerns do you have about spelling in your
classroom and across the school? What would
you like to see happen regarding spelling across
the whole school? What support would you like in
order to implement a whole-school approach?
Schools might also find it useful to gain the
support of families at this stage. If a whole-school
approach is to be implemented then the support
of families in policy input and purchasing of
resources, as classroom volunteers and at-home
spelling partners, will be necessary as well as
appreciated. The Spelling Committee could devise
a questionnaire for families so that the views of
parents and caregivers are taken into account when
formulating the school’s spelling policy.
What Constitutes a Whole-School
Policy?
On pages 17–19 you’ll find a sample policy to use
as a starting point. Adapt it to suit your school’s
needs. It contains the following sections:
Philosophical Statement and Rationale
Why is a whole-school program needed? What
does the school value and believe about spelling?
What particular learners is the school made up of
(e.g. Indigenous, ESL, students with special needs)?
Aim/s Clearly articulate the overall aim/s of a
whole-school approach to spelling.
Objectives Make broad statements of the values
and attitudes, skills and knowledge that are promoted
by the school’s policy.
Curriculum Links or Standards These can be
found in the Australian Curriculum and will be
available in each state’s syllabus document.
Student Assessment Outline the ways of
collecting, recording and using assessment
information in the school.
Teaching Implications Cover the time frame for
policy implementation (including factors such as the
funding and purchasing of resources, teacher inservice
training, training requirements of volunteers,
staff meetings, team meetings and so forth) as well as:
• how spelling will be taught in each year group and
to the range of learners in the school, including
the possibility of subject-accelerated progression
in the area of spelling for gifted spellers
• how and when students will be assessed and how
the assessment information will be reported to
families
• the role of families in supporting the development
of their child’s spelling as well as each student’s
role and responsibilities.
Support Material/Resources Which resources
will be used/purchased? Who will be responsible?
Will the school purchase a commercially available
whole-school program such as Spelling Rules!?
Evaluation How will the policy be evaluated and
revised, by whom and in what time frame?
16

A Sample Whole-School Spelling Policy
Scholarsville School
Scholarsville
School
Whole-School
Spelling Policy
Philosophy
The staff and families at Scholarsville School believe that learning how to spell correctly is a
valuable tool for reading and writing and as such is useful across the entire school curriculum.
We recognise that:
• not all students will be natural spellers and that some students will struggle to attain and
retain spelling knowledge
• learning to spell is a complex task involving phonological, visual, kinaesthetic, morphemic
and etymological knowledge and that individual students will rely to a different extent on
each area of spelling knowledge
• the vast majority of students need formal, systematic and sequential instruction about
the way spelling works, as well as the strategies they can use and the knowledge they
can develop to become independent, confident spellers and spelling risk-takers
• all students need support in spelling, including struggling spellers, gifted spellers, students
for whom English is a second language, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
• the working memory of a human brain is finite. Students need to be exposed to small
amounts of new spelling information at any one time. They then need opportunities to
practise and consolidate this new information so that it is stored in their long-term
memories for future use.
Rationale
The enrolment at Scholarsville School includes 35% of students who are from non-Englishspeaking
backgrounds. These students, as well as our students with English home language
backgrounds, need a coherent, systematic teaching approach to spelling so that they develop
the knowledge and skills to support effective written communication in English.
Aim
The aim of the whole-school spelling policy is to provide all students with systematic and
sequential instruction in English spelling so that they develop positive attitudes to spelling,
learn strategies to support their spelling learning and experience success in spelling.
Objectives
1. Students will value correct spelling and develop confidence
in themselves as learners of spelling.
2. Students will develop phonological, visual, kinaesthetic,
morphemic and etymological spelling knowledge.
3. Students will develop skills and strategies to help them
remember spelling and tackle new words.
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18
Curriculum Links
See Australian Curriculum, English.
In their Foundation year of schooling,
students will:
• develop positive attitudes about spelling and
attempting to spell
• recognise the different sounds in English and
isolate sounds (phonemes) in words
• name all lower- and upper-case letters and
recognise the most common sound represented
by each letter
• recognise rhyme, alliteration, onset and rime, and
syllables, and use these to spell words
• recognise and write some high frequency words
• learn to spell consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC)
patterns using short vowel sounds, moving on to
CCVC (like ship) and CVCC words (like hill),
still using short vowel sounds
• begin to develop the skill of proofreading for
correct spelling.
In Year 1, students will:
• build on the skills and knowledge developed in
the first year of schooling
• make new words by adding, deleting or
substituting letters
• spell single-syllable words with short vowels,
common long vowels, some consonant blends
and consonant digraphs
• understand how a letter can represent more than
one sound
• spell some two-syllable words
• learn how to use mnemonics and analogy to
attempt to spell new words
• develop further understanding of word families
and rhyming words
• recognise and write some high frequency words
• learn some spelling rules
• begin to learn how to proofread
• develop an understanding of alphabetical order
and dictionary use.
In Year 2, students will:
• build on the letter patterns introduced in the first
two years of schooling by learning about other
digraphs and blends, irregular plurals, and silent letters
• understand that a sound can be represented by
different combinations of letters
• read and write an expanding range of high
frequency words
• learn to use a variety of strategies to work out
spelling: visual knowledge, morphemic and
etymological knowledge, analogy, mnemonics
• learn some spelling rules and conventions
• learn about prefixes, suffixes, verb tense and
contractions, and develop an understanding of
how words are built upon a base word/how
word families are formed
• explore and build compound words.
In Year 3, students will:
• build on the skills and knowledge learned in
the previous years of schooling with emphasis
on the use of etymological knowledge, suffixes,
prefixes, homophones, medial double consonants,
apostrophes, capitalisation and spelling rules; write
more complex texts for varying purposes and
audiences; and develop an expanded vocabulary.
In Year 4, students will:
• build on the skills and knowledge learned in the
previous years of schooling, with emphasis on
spelling strategies needed to tackle unknown words,
common prefixes and suffixes, word endings (such
as f, ff, ph and gh), words adopted by English from
other languages, abbreviations, more complex
spelling rules, homophones, proofreading and
subject-specific words.
In Year 5, students will:
• build on the skills and knowledge learned in the
previous years of schooling; learn more about
synonyms and antonyms; explore etymology,
especially words with Latin, French and Greek
roots; learn about acronyms, blends and eponyms;
and explore subject-specific words.
In Year 6, students will:
• build on the skills and knowledge learned in the
previous years of schooling, as well as reviewing
all spelling rules and conventions; conduct a more
detailed etymological and morphological study
of words; review all affixes, words with difficult
or irregular spelling patterns, homophones and
homographs; explore subject-specific words; and
use proofreading as an automatic process.

Student Assessment
Student spelling achievement will be assessed weekly in each class, by class teachers, using a
combination of students’ writing samples, dictation tests and tests of the spelling lists covered
in the Spelling Rules! program.
Information about students’ spelling achievement will be recorded and this information will
be provided to families informally, as the need arises, and formally, in response to requests
from families or as determined by the teacher.
Families will be provided with half-yearly and yearly written reports that outline spelling
progress and development.
Teaching Implications
The school will implement this policy commencing Term 1.
Each class will spend 15 minutes per day on explicit spelling instruction. Spelling instruction
will also be integrated across all areas of learning. Spelling instruction will be supported
by the classroom expectation that all students will engage in writing, daily, for a variety of
purposes and audiences, and that this writing will be context based.
Spelling instruction will be part of each day’s program as well as occurring spontaneously
during the course of any activity that provides a teaching opportunity for spelling.
Support Material/Resources
Spelling Rules! resources will be purchased for each student and class teacher during Term 4
of the year before use. Teachers will familiarise themselves with the program.
In preparation for implementation of this policy, year-group meetings will be held on the
first Mondays in October, November and December.
Whole-staff training and professional development opportunities in spelling will be organised.
Evaluation
Evaluation of the policy and policy review will commence in October. Year-group meetings
will be held on the first Mondays in October, November and December. Year groups will
provide written feedback to the Spelling Committee about the impact of this policy on
students and staff.
The Spelling Committee will compile a written report for the school community on
the progress of policy implementation, and make further recommendations to school
management regarding teacher training, resources (personnel and equipment) and so on.
Scholarsville
School
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The Spelling Classroom for Foundation to Year 2
How to Set Up the Classroom
for Spelling
A spelling classroom for Foundation to Year 2
will feature a selection of texts on display or
readily accessible to students and equipment
for experimenting with words and spelling. This
equipment might be part of a spelling learning centre,
established in one area of the classroom. It is also
important that classroom management practices
support students’ acquisition of spelling knowledge.
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Texts on Display or Readily Accessible
to Students
These can include:
• lists of useful words: names of students, topic
words, high frequency words, word families, days
of the week, months, a weather chart with words
to attach for hot, windy, cloudy, rainy and so on
• lists of stories read, poems learned, songs known
• a class timetable
• class rules constructed with student input: Walk
inside, Use inside voices, Look after property, Put
things away, Listen to your friends
• signs and labels on all items and art work,
constructed with student input, e.g. art cupboard,
teacher’s desk, Goldie the Goldfish
• examples of student texts
• student stories and other texts that have been
handwritten by you or another adult, or published
on a computer
• class books created jointly with the students
(and opportunities for these to be borrowed by
students to share with their families at home)
• attractively presented and interesting reading
materials, both literary and factual
• dictionaries, word books, student spelling books,
personal word lists, ‘have a go’ books.
A Spelling Learning Centre
Establish a spelling learning centre in your
classroom for interested students, students who
need extra spelling practice, or able spellers
wanting more challenges. Games and activities
could be for individual students, or students could
be allowed to work in pairs or groups. The spelling
centre could also be used when parent helpers and
volunteers are available (or ‘buddies’ from older
classes, if your school supports this practice).
The spelling learning centre could include
equipment such as:
• task cards in a box, with word searches, tongue
twister challenges, crossword puzzles
• spelling games – Scrabble ® , Boggle ® , bingo,
teacher-created games and resources
• assorted writing materials: whiteboards, paper,
cardboard, marker pens, felt pens, pencils, chalk,
charcoal, crayons
• magnet letters, letter tiles, letter cards, alphabet
charts
• play dough for making letters, and to improve
hand strength and therefore fine motor control
• a sand trough for writing words and letter shapes
• magazines, scissors and glue
• computers and tablets
• audio recordings of poems, stories, chants and
recorded sounds
• percussion instruments to repeat sequences of
sounds or rhythm patterns, or to create beats for
the syllables in words.

Classroom Management Practices that
Support Spelling Development
To support spelling development:
• allow time for students to write and spell every day
• encourage reference to written language in the
classroom during the week, and allow time to
revisit and re-read the written texts and to point
out aspects of spelling
• provide specific lists of spelling words for
students to learn. These lists need to be based
on letter patterns or sounds and provide a
clear scope and sequence of spelling skills. The
lists should also allow for the addition of high
frequency words and words from students’
own writing
• encourage students to refer to a wall chart that lists
steps they can follow in working out how to spell a
word, for example Reproducible 1, blown up to
A3 size
• include parents and other volunteers, and/or
peer tutors
• use varied grouping arrangements (ability
grouping, mixed-ability grouping, pairs, small
groups, mixed-age groups).
Developing Auditory, Visual
and Kinaesthetic Perception
It is important to develop auditory, visual and
kinaesthetic perception in young children, because
these form the basis for the development of
phonological, visual and kinaesthetic spelling
knowledge, among other things.
You will find that during early spelling development
students will more readily hear the sound at the
beginning of a word. They are usually next able to
identify the final sound, and then lastly the sounds
in the middle of a word.
Visual Perception
Visual perception can be developed using the
following activities:
• learning to really look at letters, and combinations
of letters
• distinguishing between letters in written activities
(e.g. by colouring every t)
• looking at the shapes and lengths of words
(e.g. the different shapes of dog, elephant)
• using consistent letter shapes and neat writing so
that letters and words are easily recognisable
• taking a mental picture of a word, and writing it in
the air with eyes closed
• using ‘look, say, cover, write, check’
• doing any activity that requires students to
use their eyes to problem-solve: jigsaw puzzles,
categorising words by shape, matching and sorting
words into word families, sequencing objects by
colour, shape, size.
Auditory Perception
Auditory perception can be developed using the
following activities:
• recognising and labelling sounds
• repeating a sequence of sounds
• learning to distinguish beginning, final and middle
sounds in words
• breaking a word into component sounds or syllables
• clapping out a rhythm
• clapping the syllables in words
• recognising rhyming words, alliteration and
assonance, onset and rime
• using ‘look, say, cover, write, check’.
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